Renzo Racer – Review
We’ve had our fair share of Mario Kart clones on the site, with Crash Team Racing being the last big title in the genre. Many developers tend to mimic the good attributes of a Mario Kart game but often fall short in creating likable characters, having fun mechanics, creating the right tracks or they simply fail in all departments as they were hoping for a quick cash grab. We recently discovered Renzo Racers, which looked very appealing, and actually is rather interesting. Sadly, the game just left Early Access, and while the cast of characters is likable, we felt the physics and controls still needed a lot of work.
Story
There is no story to be found in the game, which makes it hard to sympathize with the characters in the game. Nonetheless, the developers made a very interesting cast of characters, allowing you to pick which one you prefer, and perhaps choose who looks like the possible bad guy. While stories don’t fare that well in games such as this, it could have added a bit of a backdrop for the races to come. Nonetheless, we didn’t miss any story content and were happy to be playing in a matter of seconds.
Graphics
Renzo Racer is actually a fun and good looking game. The graphics perhaps aren’t the best, but the character and kart design are superbly handled. There is a varied cast of characters available, and you unlock these at a fairly steady pace, making it pleasant to see who joins the roster. The tracks themselves feel a bit flat and uninspired compared to the Mario Kart games, especially in terms of backdrops and different types of obstacles. Nonetheless, we can easily say that Renzo Racer handles its own style, and does so quite well. We would have liked it more if their ‘RR’ logo would not be a cheap knockoff of the ‘8’ logo of Mario Kart.
Sound
The sound design of Renzo Racer is a bit quirky, but also very likable. At times you’ll be listening to an upbeat ‘tropical’ number, when you’re racing, only to have it replaced with a sturdy techno beat during the next race. While there doesn’t seem to be a general theme in the music, the soundtrack works quite well for the game and we actually enjoyed cruising around with a heavy beat in the background. The characters themselves only make a few basic noises, and it would certainly benefit the game’s atmosphere to have these fleshed out even more.
Gameplay
Renzo Racer is another kart racer on a fairly saturated market. Nonetheless, we had high hopes for this title as the character design seemed to be very interesting and the game looked promising overall. At the moment there’s not that much content, safe for a few tournaments, single races, and a multiplayer function. Other than that, you simply play to unlock new characters, thus unlocking new content with it.
As mentioned before, the game does have a varied cast of characters that can be unlocked fairly easily. This creates a certain incentive to keep playing. Sadly, the characters are somewhat static, as you can’t change karts or you can’t beef up existing vehicles or characters. Each character has its own kart and that’s final. It would be nice to see a bit more leeway in this system, where customization options are added. We realize the game has left Early Access, but we feel that the developers themselves know the game isn’t fully finished just yet.
The biggest downfalls of the game are its controls and physics. You’ll notice that the controls are very irresponsive, especially when you get hit by something and want to get back on track. When using the recovery button, while keeping your throttle pressed down, you’ll often find yourself struggling to start. Even using a booster when getting hit will do next to nothing. Other than that, you often tilt sideways, or barely hitting an obstacle will toss you around the track as if you’re a feather. The controls feel as if they’ve hardly been tested or that the developers have no experience in designing the mechanics for a game such as this. We hope vast improvements are made, otherwise, the game will be rather unplayable for many potential fans. Even the power-ups don’t add that much to the game, and more than often end up hampering the controls too.
Conclusion
Honestly, we hoped Renzo Racer would be the new Mario Kart, but sadly it isn’t. The game has a great character design, a raging soundtrack but the game is hampered by uninspired track design and very poor physics and controls. Those looking for a fun Mario Kart clone, but don’t mind it being in a very uncompleted stage might find Renzo Racer a fun title, but those looking for a polished experience should stay away from this title for the time being.
Renzo Racer - Review,
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